Site Search Navigation

Site Navigation

Site Mobile Navigation

Readers Respond: On Islam and Islamists

By Marie Tessier October 10, 2014 3:40 pmOctober 10, 2014 3:40 pm

Photo

Credit Vahid Salemi/Associated Press

As HBO’s Bill Maher set off a new round of public debate about Islam and its relationship with political violence recently, New York Times readers expressed their horror at Islamist acts of terror. Many decried human rights abuses by some Muslims and expressed disappointment with the proliferation of demeaning stereotypes, in response to two recent columns.

“The Islamic world contains multitudes: It is vast and varied,” Nicholas Kristof wrote in “The Diversity of Islam,” following his appearance on Mr. Maher’s show. “Beware of generalizations about any faith because they sometimes amount to the religious equivalent of racial profiling.”

In “Bill Maher Isn’t the Only One Who Misunderstands Religion,” the writer Reza Aslan argued that “there is a real lack of sophistication on both sides of the argument when it comes to discussing religion and violence.” Many Muslims too “glibly dismiss” extremists’ claims of religious foundations, he wrote, but many critics also miss the point. “Making a blanket judgment about the world’s second largest religion — is simply bigotry.”

Readers were quick to separate religion from violent movements that claim to have religious foundations, such as the Islamic State.

“Ninety-nine percent of Muslims may be peace-loving people,” the Wifely Person wrote from St. Paul. “But the 1 percent are scaring the pants off the rest of us, which is why they’re called terrorists.”

Mr. Maher argued in the HBO broadcast that Islam generally is like the “Mafia” for tolerating human rights abuses such as death sentences for apostates. Many Times readers shared his view that Islam at-large should be held accountable. One challenged Mr. Kristof’s characterization of Indonesia as a place where “only 16 percent of Muslims favor” such a death sentence.

“There surely is something out of kilter about regarding as moderate, a culture where one in six Muslims favors killing one of their own for expressing an opinion,” John Weiser of Atlanta wrote. “We liberals go too far in trying to respect religious and cultural belief systems.”

Mr. Aslan faults many Muslims for dismissing repressive Islamic movements by asserting that they are not Islamic. “Members of the Islamic State are Muslims for the simple fact that they declare themselves to be so,” Mr. Aslan wrote. “Dismissing their profession of belief prevents us from dealing honestly with the inherent problems. …”

Some readers addressed the matter as a state issue. “Member countries of the organization of Islamic cooperation have some of the worst human rights records in the world,” Chazak wrote from Rockville, Md. “Virtually all of them defend their policies in the name of Islam.”

Others offered specifics about militants’ acts and said Muslims generally should respond more forcefully. “They’re killing people. They’re beheading journalists, blowing up skyscrapers, all in the name of Islam,” Tom J. in Berwyn wrote.

But then Tom J. entered territory that was more disputed. “I haven’t seen yet a worldwide Islamic spokesperson denounce this, and if they have, they need to do it a little louder,” Tom J. continued. “These extremists need to be officially cast from the religion, to be excommunicated.”

Some readers were offended by those who overlook or fail to notice anti-Islamist responses, including military action, by Muslims.

“What are the Muslims doing against ISIS? Who is exactly fighting them on the ground daily — the Kurdish pesh merga and Iraqi Army, both Muslim dominated military units,” Tarek al-Nahdi in Toronto wrote. “As a Muslim reading the comments section, I was extremely disheartened to read this level of bigotry from my fellow liberals.”

Some readers shared Mr. Aslan’s perspective that religious movements can be criticized without demeaning sincere adherents of one of the world’s largest religions. “Making a blanket statement about the deplorable edicts of a religion is different from making one about all the adherents of said religion,” Nathan wrote from Austin.

Others echoed actor Ben Affleck’s condemnation of Maher’s remarks as “gross” and “racist,” a view that Mr. Kristof said he shares.

“It offends me to hear people talk about ‘Muslims do this,’ and ‘Muslims do that,’” Rachel in NJ/NY wrote. “That isn’t because I’m oversensitive, it’s because I know so many exceptions to it that I can view it for what it is: bigotry.”

Demarcating the difference between demeaning stereotypes and reasoned criticism is not difficult, some said, and is the start of a more meaningful conversation.

“Acknowledge the damage those fringe beliefs cause, but acknowledge, too, that they are an outgrowth of mainstream beliefs,” Elizabeth wrote from Seoul. “Celebrating the good any religion can do is not enough.”

What's Next

About This Blog

Op-Talk is your guide to today's debates and the variety of voices behind them. From pizza to politics (and the politics of pizza), we offer new ways of looking at what's exciting, troubling, and inspiring.